YEREVAN, MAY 12, ARMENPRESS. Caretaker Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and Prime Ministr of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili issued a joint statement for the mediafollowing the negotiations, ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the Prime Minister of Armenia.

The statement rusn as follows,

Nikol Pashinyan – Honorable Mr. Garibashvili, dear Irakli, dear members of the delegation, I am glad to welcome and host you in the Republic of Armenia.

It's always an honor and pleasure for me to meet with the Head of the Georgian Government and discuss the cooperation agenda between our countries in an atmosphere of friendship.

The development of special neighborly relations with Georgia occupies a key place in Armenia's foreign policy.

Our two peoples are intertwined with many threads. Our age-old friendship, as well as the common values of democracy and the rule of law, form the solid foundation on which the partnership of our two states is based.

The Armenian community of Georgia, which has a centuries-old history, is the bridge that connects our two countries even stronger. We have a wide agenda of dynamically developing cooperation. It covers many areas.

Today, I had the opportunity to continue the constructive dialogue with the Georgian government with Mr. Gharibashvili.

We touched upon the current state of cooperation and development prospects of cooperation in transport, energy, other important sectors of the economy. We decided to put even more emphasis on the development of trade and economic ties in our relations. In particular, we mentioned the need to develop the transit potential and the more efficient use of regional transport routes. The potential of cooperation between the two countries in the field of high technologies and the need for its use were emphasized.

As always, issues of cooperation in the fields of education, science and culture were discussed.

We exchanged views on the steps taken in our countries to fight the pandemic.

My Georgian counterpart and I also addressed regional security issues.

For us, there is no doubt that the Armenian-Georgian partnership is one of the most effective guarantees for ensuring stability in our region. Touching upon regional issues, I expressed confidence that the Karabakh conflict should reach a final settlement within the framework of the process under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs and based on the principles proposed by them.

I also expressed confidence that each conflict has its own peculiarity. In this regard, I emphasized maintaining a balanced, constructive position on issues that are sensitive to each other.

Concluding my speech, I would like to welcome our friends again and I kindly give the floor to my colleague.

Irakli Garibashvili – Thank you. It's a great honor for me to be once again hosted in the Republic of Armenia.

Our countries are connected by centuries-old historical friendly relations. I am confident that future cooperation will continue in this spirit. Georgia and Armenia stand out with their great history, unique culture and interesting traditions. The future of our countries must be built on these values, which are strengthened by strong state institutions, democracy, open-transparent governance, economic progress and innovation.

We agree that all this can be achieved only in conditions of peace and regional stability. On the one hand, the Covid-19 պանդեմից, on the other hand, the war in Karabakh, of course, has caused significant difficulties for the whole region. I think there is no alternative to peace talks and dialogue.

Georgia has always been a supporter of peaceful cooperation and coexistence in the South Caucasus, and this course will continue in the future. We are ready to promote regional dialogue, develop the economy, trade and other humanitarian issues. The Georgian people have chosen the European-Euro-Atlantic path in order to strengthen stability, peace and democratic values.

I want to mention that during our meeting today we discussed all the directions of cooperation. We stressed the need to have an intensive political dialogue, to develop trade and economic relations, to discuss new projects, to cooperate in such areas as transport, economy, culture, innovation, and to develop the already intensive relations. Despite these relations, we still have the opportunity for development.

Armenia's stability and democratic development are extremely important for Georgia and the entire region. We are convinced that the early parliamentary elections will be held openly and transparently, the Armenian people will once again show the world their commitment to the principles of democracy.

We expressed readiness to continue the meetings, to maintain the dynamics of high-level mutual visits, to promote the cooperation of the sectoral departments.

Mr. Prime Minister, thank you once again for the fruitful reception and cooperation.